RPT-Honey, can you pick up a tablet at the grocery store?

BARCELONA Feb 27 (Reuters) - Originally derided as a pricey
niche product for geeks, tablet computers have become so common
that supermarkets are now selling their own brands, pushing out
low-cost rivals.

The shifting nature of the market underscores how millions
of people are choosing simpler devices to surf the web, send
emails and shop, putting pressure on traditional PC companies.

And since Apple pioneered the tablet in early 2010, the
gadgets now available at the lower end of the market are
becoming commodity items that non-technology companies can order
from Asian contractors using common components.

"Reference designs for tablets and smartphones from
companies like Qualcomm have drastically reduced
barriers to entry and increased commoditisation pressure in the
hardware industry," said Sameer Singh, Hyderabad-based tech
analyst.

"This opens the door for not only players that can survive
on low margins, but also for companies that use hardware as a
channel for something else."

Tesco in Britain and Walmart in the United
States, are selling their own branded tablets pitched at
customers unwilling to pay $400 or more for an Apple or
Samsung product.

Grocers like Tesco and France's Carrefour are not
only trying to cash in on booming tablet sales, but also to
nudge people to buy everything from films to groceries from
their online stores, pushed through their devices, a lesson
learned from Amazon and Google.
Continued...